Gr 5–9—Dylan D'Haeze, 13-year-old filmmaker and environmentalist, narrates this exploration of the environmental impact of plastic on the natural world. This short film concentrates primarily on plastic trash and how kids can prevent it from overwhelming the ocean ecosystems. Invented in the early 1900s, plastic did not come into universal use until the 1960s, and is now ubiquitous in every part of the globe. It does not degrade but merely miniaturizes until it is readily edible by fish and eventually by people, while increasing amounts of plastic garbage float in the oceans. Interviews with environmentalists and marine biologists emphasize the critical need to drastically reduce the use of plastic materials and to recycle and reuse. D'Haeze demonstrates a number of strategies that may be employed daily to significantly cut down on plastic overload, and he makes a convincing argument that with some effort the harm caused by plastic in the environment can be reversed. Other aspects of plastic pollution, such as chemicals in food and water or the responsibility of government agencies to address this problem, are not tackled here.

VERDICT The use of a middle school narrator to address the problem of plastic trash will make this readily suitable in an environmental science curriculum.